Jane Adams – Email: adamsinglewood@gmail.com
Has an MS in Child Development From the University of Pittsburgh. She has studied Bowen Family Systems for over 15 years and has presented regularly to the WPFC Basic Seminar class. Jane was the director of St. Paul’s Episcopal Nursery School in Mt. Lebanon, Pa from 1992 until 2012.
Jean Kirstein Brannan, MSW, LCSW – Email: jmkbrannan@gmail.com
A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, she is a licensed clinical social worker with over 35 years of experience working in community mental health. She is now in private practice with Spiegel Freedman Psychological Associates. She applies Bowen theory to her work with children, adults, and families who present with a variety of concerns. She studied Bowen theory at the Western Psychiatric Hospital and Clinic Family Therapy Institute and has continued individual study at WPFC, having joined its faculty in 1995.
Sandra Caffo, LSCW – Email: caffosan@verizon.net
Sandra Caffo is a retired clinical social worker who received her MSW from Wayne State University and a Post Master’s Certificate in Marriage & Family Therapy from the University of Pittsburgh where she later taught in the program. She began her study of Bowen family systems theory with the Basic Seminar in 1996 and has continued to study and apply the ideas to her own family, in clinical work and in business.
Ann Depner, MSW LCSW – Email: ADepner57@gmail.com
A licensed clinical social worker, Ann retired from a longstanding career at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, where she served as a clinician and Director of Family Services. She currently maintains a small private practice of family therapy and spiritual direction. Ann completed the basic seminar at WPFC after earning a Master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and has applied Bowen theory to her clinical and administrative work for over 30 years. She has taught an introductory class in Bowen theory to clergy and group leaders since 2010. Speaking from a family systems perspective, Ann has presented locally and nationally on topics such as the process of development for clinicians, self-injurious behavior, ethics in the mental health profession, and gender differences in bereavement.
Annette Kolski-Andreaco, MSW, LSW, MURP Email: andreacokolski@gmail.com
As a senior manager and executive director in the nonprofit sector for over 40 years, Ms. Kolski-Andreaco served in a variety of capacities, including strategic planning, fund development, program development, public and community relations and board relations. Ms. Kolski-Andreaco has managed organizations of two to 60. She was a senior manager for LifeSolutions EAP at UPMC Health Plan until her retirement in 2016. She was previously the administrative director of WPFC for 11 years where she completed the post graduate training program. She also completed three years of postgraduate work at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family. Ms. Kolski-Andreaco maintains a private practice for individuals, families and couples.
N. Michel (Mick) Landaiche, III, PhD – Email: mickland111@gmail.com
Dr. Landaiche has worked since 1989 as a psychotherapist with individuals, groups, couples, and families in agency, university-counseling, and private-practice settings. He has also applied a systems approach to consulting for nonprofit and government organizations. These professional experiences inform his book, Groups in Transactional Analysis, Object Relations, and Family Systems: Studying Ourselves in Collective Life. Along with his training role for WPFC, he also facilitates learning about self-in-system with professional communities in Bucharest, Lyon, and Manchester. In his Pittsburgh-based private practice, he currently provides human relations consulting for individuals, groups, and other professionals.
Cynthia A. Larkby, PhD, ACSW – Email: clarkby@icloud.com
With degrees in social work from Ohio State University and epidemiology from the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Larkby has a special interest in understanding how past and present family relationships influence health. She first studied Bowen family systems theory through courses offered by the Family Therapy Institute at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic; subsequently, she attended the Georgetown Family Center’s Post Graduate Program in Family Theory and Family Psychotherapy. A former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh where she conducted research on the effects of family environment, childhood abuse, and family violence on development of children and adolescents, she is a founder of WPFC and served as its second executive director from 1991-1996. A licensed clinical social worker, Dr. Larkby maintains a small private practice.
Ashley North – Email: contact@northcook.com
Ashley North has been a student of the concepts of Bowen Family Systems Theory for over a decade, having first encountered the theory in 2010 in the graduate program of Marriage and Family Therapy at Seton Hill University. Ashley attempts to think systemically within her own relationships, in her practice with clients, while on the board and faculty of the Western Pennsylvania Family Center, and anywhere else that nitrogen and oxygen can be found. She has a particular interest in understanding the biological foundations of theory and how a focus on emotional process may be an emotional process in itself.
Catherine Murphy Rakow, MSW, ACSW – Email: henryclay170@gmail.com
A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, she studied Bowen family systems theory at the WPIC Family Therapy Institute and at the Georgetown Family Center. Mrs. Rakow is retired from private practice. She has done extensive research with Bowen archival materials located at the National Library of Medicine and in Williamsburg, VA. She authored the book Making Sense of Human Life, Murray Bowen’s determined effort toward family systems theory in 2022 that reviews the early origins of the theory emerging from Bowen’s time at the Menninger Foundation, 1946-1954, and later when he hospitalized entire families at the National Institute of Mental Health, 1954-1959. In addition to her book, her other writings on Bowen’s search during this time period can be found on researchgate.net.
Walter H. Smith, Jr., PhD –Email: savidosmith@sprynet.com
Dr. Smith is a trustee of the Casey Family Programs which is a Seattle-based national operating foundation focused on improving, providing, and preventing the need for foster care. He has a primary interest in applying Bowen family systems theory to preventing and treating family violence and child abuse and improving organizational functioning. He is a licensed psychologist and a graduate of the Georgetown Family Center’s Post Graduate Program in Family Theory and Family Psychotherapy. Dr. Smith is a founder of WPFC. He maintains a small private practice. He is the former executive director of Family Resources, a child abuse treatment and prevention organization in Pittsburgh. He is the retired deputy director of Children Youth and Families in the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, and he is a frequent national and international lecturer.
Arthur Zipris, PhD – Email: zipris@nb.net
Arthur Zipris is a licensed psychologist, practicing at the Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute, where he sees individuals, families, and couples. He has studied Bowen Family Systems Theory for over 30 years, and has done many presentations on different applications of the theory, both in Pittsburgh and elsewhere. He is also on the faculty of the Western Pa. Family Center, and has taught Family Systems theory for many years as an adjunct lecturer with the MFT program at Seton Hill. He is the primary author of the BFST workbook, and developed, along with other faculty members, the on-line program of the theory at the Family Center, as well as being a facilitator of the Basic Seminar at the Family Center.
Christopher F. Burnett, PsyD – burnett@nova.edu
Associate Professor of Human Relationship Systems in the Department of Family Therapy in Nova Southeastern University’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Dr. Burnett joined the University in 1993, shortly after completing his doctorate in psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His area of clinical specialty is Bowen Family Systems, an interest he has maintained now for over 30 years. He is interested in the application of systems thinking to understanding individual, social, and organizational systems and their functioning. In addition to teaching Bowen Family Systems in the Ph.D. and DMFT programs, he has served as dissertation advisor to dozens of students applying Bowen theory in their doctoral research.
Carl A. Jensen, MDiv., MSEd – livingsystemsconsult@gmail.com
Although retired from service as agency executive and therapist and living in Arizona, Carl continues to serve in the WPFC distance learning program. He also continues to be a Diplomate in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, and a Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists. Carl studied Bowen Theory in the WPFC Post Graduate Program and has been trained in applying Bowen Theory to religious systems. He received a Post-Masters Family Therapy Certificate from the University of Pittsburgh, a MSEd from Duquesne University, and an MDiv from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Carl also studied pastoral counseling at the Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute. He offers consultations and workshops.
Marilyn S. Barton, MA
A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and Duquesne University, Marilyn Barton first studied Bowen theory at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic’s Family Therapy Institute. Prior to her death in December 2023, Ms. Barton applied Bowen theory as a licensed psychologist in her private practice, the Center for Family Learning. The practice was aptly named. Over the decades, Ms. Barton kindled enthusiasm for learning family systems theory in hundreds of clients and associates. A compelling interest of Ms. Barton’s was the compatibility of Bowen theory and spirituality. She wrote numerous articles and gave presentations both locally and nationally in a steadily progressing effort to integrate the two. Ms. Barton taught Bowen theory as a continuing education course at St. Paul Seminary and was in demand as a retreat leader and speaker at churches and community groups throughout the Pittsburgh area.
Sandra Block
A Diplomate in Clinical Social Work from the National Association of Social Workers, and graduate of Catholic University in Washington, D.C., Sandy is a full-time psychotherapist in private practice applying Bowen Theory to her work with individuals, couples and families. With over 25 years of clinical experience, she has provided supervision and consultation services to other mental health professionals and particularly enjoys presenting family systems ideas to students in area graduate programs. She has recently completed four years of the Special Postgraduate Program in Bowen Theory at the Georgetown Family Center in Washington, D.C.
Celeste Compomizzi, MSW, MEd
A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, she studied Bowen family systems theory at the Family Therapy Institute at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and at WPFC in Pittsburgh and at the Georgetown Family Center in DC. She has had over 20 years of experience working with adults displaying a range of functioning in outpatient settings. She studied cannibalism and violence among Gombe chimpanzees in a research group at Georgetown Family Center. Her current interest is in aspects of evolutionary theory and Bowen family systems theory that may inform each other.
Linda M. Fleming, PhD
Associate Vice President for Psychology Intern Training and Quality Assurance at the Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center, Dr. Fleming earned a bachelor’s degree in music from California Institute of the Arts (Valencia, CA), a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Connecticut and a doctoral degree in counseling psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. She also completed the postgraduate training program and clinical consultation course at the Western Pennsylvania Family Center, Pittsburgh, which provided her with a foundation in Bowen Theory. Employed at Gannon University for over 20 years, Dr. Fleming served as the Training Director for the doctoral program in Counseling Psychology, Chair of the Department of Psychology and Counseling, interim Provost, and Dean of the College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences. She then served as the Vice-president for Academic and Student Affairs at the Northern PA Regional College. Along with her previous positions she has taught in the post-graduate training program at the Western Pennsylvania Family Center. Fleming is a licensed psychologist and, prior to her work at Gannon, worked in mental health and family services providing counseling and psychological services. Her professional affiliations include the American Psychological Association, and the Western Pennsylvania Family Center. She is currently on the board for the Society for Psychologists in Management. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and presented at numerous professional conferences.
Stuart E. Libman, MD
A graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Dr. Libman brings a family systems perspective to clinical work with children, adolescents, and adults. He is board certified in both General Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry, and has particular interest in the area of Sports Psychiatry. Dr. Libman is a an Assistant Professor of Child Psychiatry and Adolescence at the University of Pittsburgh, the medical director of the PLEA Developmental Preschool, a member of the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, and a founder of Western Pennsylvania Family Center.
James C. Maloni, PhD
Dr. Maloni is a graduate of Niagara University and Duquesne University. He retired from independent practice of clinical psychology in late 2002.Since retirement, his primary interest has been to apply Bowen theory to the societal processes related to development and leadership in Africa. His specific focus is on Rwanda and South Africa.
Paulina G. McCullough, MSW, ACSW
A graduate of the National Health Service in Chile and the University of Pittsburgh, her association with Dr. Bowen began more than 30 years ago, when she served on the staff of the Georgetown Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry. McCullough was one of the first mental health professionals nationwide to work directly with Dr. Bowen. She taught family systems at the University of Pittsburgh and at the Family Therapy Institute at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. She also was instrumental in the founding of WPFC, served as its first executive director, and is presently faculty emeritus. She is on the WPFC board of directors. In a 1988 survey conducted by Town & Country Magazine, McCullough was named by her peers as one of the most respected family and marriage counselors in Pittsburgh. Now living in California with her daughter, Paulina remains a constant resource.
Jane H. Platt Purifoy, PhD
A graduate of St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN (BA, 1957), and University Of Pittsburgh, (MEd, 1971, Educational Psychology and PhD, 1973, Psychology), Dr. Purifoy worked as a psychologist at Woodville State Hospital from 1975-1989 and at Mayview State Hospital from 1989-1996. Her post graduate study included a year of biochemistry at University of Pittsburgh (1957-1958) and a year of study in clinical psychology at Duquesne University (1973-1974). A student of Bowen family systems theory with Paulina McCullough from 1975-present, Dr. Purifoy has been a frequent presenter and attender of WPFC events since it’s 1985 inception; Dr. Purifoy put Bowen theory into practice as caretaker of her husband from 2007 until his death in 2016.
John Rushofsky, MDiv, MSEd
A graduate of Clarion University (B.S.), Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary (M.Div.) and Duquesne University (M.S.Ed.). Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh on September 29, 1979. Served several area parishes including St. Anne in Castle Shannon, St. John the Baptist in Plum Borough, founding pastor of St. Martin de Porres in McKeesport, and Director of Clergy Personnel for the Diocese of Pittsburgh (2000-2008). Currently pastor of St. Sebastian Parish in Ross Township. Particularly interested in the application of Bowen Family Systems Theory to clergy/congregation relationships.
James B. Smith, MS
A graduate of George Williams College, now in Lake Geneva, WI, Mr. Smith’s interests have included the use of genealogy and descriptive-experiential family research in the process of teaching and learning Bowen theory. He has also studied intercontinental and cross-cultural issues as they relate to teaching and learning the theory. He was particularly interested in the place of Bowen theory in the history of psychology and western thought. He was a founding member of WPFC and was its Executive Director from 2008 to 2019. He pursued doctoral studies in psychology at Duquesne University and training in Bowen theory at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic’s Family Therapy Institute. He was also a presenter at local, national, and international Bowen theory conferences, and a writer of articles and chapters on Bowen theory and its applications.
Connie Totera, LPC
Connie has been a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2002. Connie graduated from Duquesne University and the Pennsylvania State University with her M.Ed. Post graduate studies were done at WPFC since 2000. With over 25 years of clinical practice, Connie has a private practice in the Highland Park and Wexford areas where she applies Bowen theory to her clinical work with individuals and families.
Anne Vogeding Read, MA, MEd
A graduate of Allegheny College, Duquesne University, and the University of Pittsburgh, Anne applied Bowen theory to her work with families and adolescents. She completed family theory studies at the Western PA Psychiatric Institute and Clinic Family Therapy Institute and later worked with handicapped children and emotionally disturbed adolescents. She was also a founding member of WPFC.
